City of Philadelphia

Service Members, Veterans & Their Families

No one claimed these SC veterans when they died. Now they'll be laid to rest.

State - 7/9/2018

July 09--LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. -- Four veterans whose remains have gone unclaimed -- one since 2012 -- will be laid to rest with military honors Friday.

American Legion Post 193 of Chapin will lay to rest the cremated remains of U.S. Army Private Leroy McCallister; U.S. Marine Corp Cpls. Michael Kopp, 47, and Robert Young, 58; and Patricia Green, a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

The veterans' cremated remains have gone unclaimed since their deaths, including Green, who died in 2012, according to Steve Goulet of American Legion Post 193. McCallister and Green died in Fairfield County.

"I think anybody that has served their country honorably and faithfully should be buried with the honor, dignity and respect they earned in their service," Goulet said. "They shouldn't be just left out there without a proper burial."

In February, the unclaimed remains of three homeless veterans -- one of them a former Richland County sheriff's deputy -- were buried at Fort Jackson.

The cremated remains will be transported from the Chapin Town Hall to Fort Jackson National Cemetery beginning at 9:20 a.m. Friday, according to a news release. Members of the Patriot Guard will escort them.

A ceremony with full military honors will follow at the cemetery, and the public is invited to attend.